Our 2014 Top Photo Picks Confirm the Goodness of Humanity

18) Some Police Officers REALLY Do Care

An El Paso Police Officer helped out a homeless man in need during a December, 2013 snowstorm. According to the Facebook user who photographed Officer Jose Flores, the homeless man just needed a ride to the shelter but Flores noticed he needed shoes, and went into the store to buy him a brand new pair of snow boots, socks, and gloves.

17) Students Wear Surgical Masks to Prom in Support of Friend with Cancer

Jared Hill wanted to take his girlfriend to her senior prom in Manassas, Virginia, but because his immune system was still weak from recent chemotherapy, he was told by his doctors to wear a surgical mask for the entirety of the high school dance. Fortunately, his girlfriend Emily Jarrell has very cool friends.

Frontier Airline Passengers flying from Washington, D.C. to Denver Monday arrived after midnight, five hours late, but most did not complain. While they waited on a tarmac in Wyoming for stormy weather to clear in Denver, a video showed the mood when the Captain ordered pizzas delivered to the plane.

15) Muslim Man on Bus Gives His Shoes to Barefoot Homeless Guy

An off-duty bus driver saw a man without shoes on a bus in Surrey, B.C. and witnessed a young stranger deciding to quietly do something about it.

14) Final Goodbye: Giraffe Gives Dying Zoo Worker a Kiss

A bed-ridden employee of the Rotterdam Zoo who was dying of cancer asked Netherland’s Ambulance Wish Foundation to help him visit the animals one last time. One giraffe offered a touching goodbye.

13) Boy Shovels Snow for All His Elderly Neighbors

During the January Polar Vortex, 10-year-old Jimmy Friel, spent his time shoveling driveways for more than a dozen of his neighbors because many of them are elderly and he didn’t want them slipping and falling. He never asked for or expected any compensation.

12) Man Acts as Human Bench for Elderly Lady Stuck on Elevator

An employee from College HUNKS Moving and Hauling service in Florida proved in April that chivalry is not dead. When he became stuck in an elevator with an elderly woman, Cesar Larios turned himself into a human bench for her to sit on.

Officer John Holder and 73-year-old widow Dorothy Shepard have formed an unlikely friendship, after multiple surgeries left her recovering on her own. In this photo snapped by a Walmart shopper on the day before Thanksgiving, the DeSoto, Texas officer helps her shop for groceries.

10) Teenager Takes His Great-Grandmother to Prom

A student from Rockford, Ohio, who learned that his great-grandmother had not gone to the prom when she was in high school because she couldn’t afford it, asked her to let him escort her to his own high school formal. (Watch the video)

Firefighters in Texas were caught by a neighbor’s camera after they responded to a 911 call when a man had collapsed while mowing the yard. The guys from Baytown’s Engine 4 decided to help out the family in their time of need and returned to finish the lawn chore themselves.

8) Airport Mechanic Rescues Vet Whose Prosthetic Leg Breaks Down

A U.S. veteran, quadruple amputee Taylor Morris, was traveling through McCarran Airport in Las Vegas with his wife, when his prosthetic knee suddenly broke down. His tool kit was out of reach, packed in his luggage, but luckily the lead aircraft mechanic for American Airlines came to the rescue.

7) Pharmacist Prescribes Anti-monster Spray
for Child Who Can’t Sleep

After a six-year-old girl in North Dakota mentioned that she was having trouble sleeping at night, a kind pharmacist decided to prescribe the antidote. Watford City pharmacist Jeff Dodds gave the girl a prescription spray bottle that he said would take care of her fears of monsters in the bedroom.

6) Twins Are Born Holding Hands

Sarah Thistlethwaite and her husband, Bill, learned half way through the pregnancy that, not only would they be having twins, but rare “mono mono” twins, who would share the same placenta and amniotic sac. The high-risk birth was performed via Caesarean section and those in the Akron Children’s Hospital room witnessed the twin infants born holding hands.

5) Man Installs Refrigerator Outside his Home to Feed the Needy

To spare the needy the “shame” of begging, a Saudi man installed a giant refrigerator in front of his house to provide fresh food for the needy. He invited his neighbors in the city of Hail to bring their leftovers for sharing.

4) Policeman Buys Bed and Desk for Troubled Boy Who Had None

A Sumter, South Carolina policeman responded to a call from a 13 year-old boy who said he was tired of fighting with his mom and didn’t want to live at home anymore. When Officer Gaetano Acerra arrived, he noticed the young man was sleeping on the floor and his bedroom didn’t have any furniture at all. The best return on the officer’s investment, he said, is the gift of a new friendship.

3) Hospital Brings Horse to Visit Elderly Woman for Final Farewell

A hospital in in Wigan, England granted Sheila Marsh’s dying wish to see her horse one more time. The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary arranged transportation for Marsh’s favorite horse, whom she had looked after during the previous 25 years. Nurses wheeled her bed into the car park so she could say goodbye.

2) Black Boy Embraces Cop in a Hug Felt Round the World

During protests against the outcome in the Ferguson police shooting case, an iconic photograph emerged that symbolized hope for race relations in the US. It was called “The Hug felt round the world.” And the back story is wonderful.

1) Little Kids Come to Read Books To Shelter Cats

A Pennsylvania animal shelter has come up with a brilliant program that pairs kids and cats as reading buddies. More than 20 children in grades 1 to 8 visit the Animal Rescue League in Berks County on a weekly basis, where they read to homeless cats.

Happy New Year and May good bless in 2015! (For photo credits, please use the story links)